File - This July 17, 2014, file photo show people walking amongst the debris at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine. Ukraine said the passenger plane was shot down as it flew over the country, killing all 298 people on board. Aviation has suffered one of its worst weeks in memory, a cluster of disasters spanning three continents. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
(The Associated Press)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Dutch Safety Board leading the international investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 says it expects to publish "initial factual findings" soon.

A spokeswoman said Friday that such findings could be published as early as the end of next week, and will likely provide a picture of how the investigation will proceed.

Sara Vernooij says the board will likely say "what can we rule out? What are we going to focus on?"

The board added in a statement that investigators will be visiting the wreckage site in eastern Ukraine in the coming days.

Their aim is "verification of information already gathered from other sources, to search for possible new information and possibly collect relevant material for the investigation such as certain pieces of wreckage."